More than 200 parents, students, teachers and community members attended the community night to partake of chili, hot dogs, ice cream and cake; participate in a scavenger hunt featuring students’ work; and develop new relationships, as well as deepen old ones.

Not only did the happening provide guests with supper and a walk around the school, but the event also involved teachers from Ripley and Chautauqua Lake Central School, and was the outcome of two separately planned experiences that were merged into one.

Ripley Principal Micah Oldham explained that Ripley had been planning an evening where community members could visit the school, including people who don’t have children attending the school. At the same time, teachers from CLCS were planning a similar event to promote communication between teachers and the community. “It was two separate tracks, going in the same direction,” Oldham said.

CLCS secondary science teacher Adam Gollwitzer said that he, together with social studies teacher Dan Morton and ELA teacher Joe Lantz, formed the Teachers’ Civic Engagement Club.

Visitors to Ripley School’s Community Night who completed the scavenger hunt involving student work throughout the school finished by enjoying cake and ice cream supplied by the PTO. Submitted photo

“The intention of this club is to create a space for community members and teachers to get together “with no agenda on the table,” he said.

This club fit perfectly with Ripley’s intent, Gollwitzer said. “Because our teachers worked with the Ripley teachers to coordinate this, we got to know some of the Ripley teachers better. We got to know some of the Ripley parents better, too. We didn’t have a lot of expectations coming into it, but there’s been a real deepening of relationships,” he said.

The resulting event turned out better than anyone expected.

“Since this is the first time we’re doing this, we weren’t sure what to expect,” said Ripley Superintendent Bill Caldwell. “I’m amazed at the number of people who came out on a cold winter night.”

As with any school open house, the highlight of the evening was the students’ work. However, this event took the novel approach of inviting visitors to take part in a scavenger hunt which would require them to examine the work showcased by students in all grades.

Ripley fourth-grader Andre Chess explains his diorama about ostriches to his sister Addison, his father, Brian, and his grandparents Don and Mary Beth Chess

The scavenger hunt featured work that students had revised, redrafted and edited in order to produce the best completed projects possible. Visitors were able to see the steps the students took in producing high quality work. At the completion of the scavenger hunt, participants were treated to ice cream and cake, provided by the Ripley PTO.

According to fifth grade teacher Justin Akin, many of the younger students were interested in perusing the projects completed by students in the higher grades. “I think it is kind of cool because you would see kids showing their family members their work, then looking at what the kids from older grades do,” Akin said. “I like this community night because it gives students from all grades the opportunity to appreciate each other’s work.”

Everyone noted the uniqueness of the work on display. From the pre-K 4 paper mache snakes, to 4th grade dioramas of animal habitats, to the e-books created by 5th grade pupils, many parents were heard saying, “I wish we had done things like this when we were in school.”

Pupils in third grade researched frogs, using the DK book Everything You Need to Know About Frogs and Other Slippery Creatures. After that, they created reports and paper mache representations of the world’s most unusual frogs.

Fourth graders read the book Can You Survive in the Wilderness? by Matt Doeden. Each student then created a narrative and a diorama about a particular animal, with two possible outcomes for the creature’s chance of survival.

Among the work displayed at Ripley School’s Community Night were animal habitat dioramas made by students in the fourth grade.

The fifth grade pupils read The Most Beautiful Roof in the World by Kathryn Lasky. They then worked in pairs to create e-books from the perspective of two characters from the book relating their experiences in the rainforest canopy.

Sixth grade students read Good Masters/Sweet Ladies/Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz. They then wrote poems on modern day adversity.

Oldham expressed his pride in the work of the pupils, noting that this night provided an opportunity to “get the parents here, showcase students’ work, and strengthen the transition for our students who will be going to Chautauqua Lake.”

Oldham said it was great having the Chautauqua Lake teachers at the event. “This is the two unions working together,” he said. A parallel event, a free community chili dinner for parents, guardians, and students will be held on Thursday night at CLCS. “Attending these events gives our students a base of familiarity when they get to Chautauqua Lake,” Oldham said.

Caldwell underscored the importance of collaborative events with CLCS. “It helps the kids to feel less scared, less worried about the transition. The more we can take the mystery away, the better it’s going to be,” he said. “It’s not us and them. It’s we.”